FSU Soccer Shuts Out BC in ACC Quarterfinals

Tallahassee, FL - Top-seeded Florida State took the first step in defending its conference championship Sunday afternoon shutting out eighth-seeded Boston College, 4-0, on a chilly day inside the Seminole Soccer Complex in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.

After suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of the Eagles just 10 days ago in Massachusetts, the Seminoles got their revenge on Sunday scoring four times including twice each half, in rolling to the largest margin of victory in series history.

Tiffany McCarty registered two goals and Dagny Brynjarsdottir tallied a career-high four points on a goal and two assists as the Seminoles advanced out of the first round of the ACC Tournament for the sixth time in the last eight years.

McCarty’s two goals made her the all-time leading scorer in points (10) and goals (5) in league championship play, while Brynjarsdottir became the fourth Seminole to record two assists in an ACC Tournament game as she joined Amber Tollefson (2001), Summer Corum (2001) and Mami Yamaguchi (2006).

With the win, FSU improved to 12-14-6 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 1-1-0 in league tournament games played in Tallahassee.

Florida State will now move on to face Virginia in the ACC Tournament Semifinals at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C., on Friday, November 2 at 5:00 p.m. The game is a rematch of last year’s conference tournament semifinals in which the Seminoles defeated the Cavaliers 2-1 – marking FSU’s first-ever win over UVa. Virginia advanced to the semifinals on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The Seminoles wasted very little time cracking the scoreboard on Sunday scoring two goals in the first five minutes courtesy of Brynjarsdottir and McCarty to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

The first goal came just one minute and five seconds into the start of the match following the first Florida State corner kick of the match. Tiana Brockway sent a beautiful bending ball on goal that BC keeper Alexa Gaul had to make a play on as she punched the ball off the crossbar. The ball deflected back into the box to Kristin Grubka, who headed the ball across the six-yard box to Brynjarsdottir, who finished the play with a header of her own inside the right post for the goal. The goal marked the quickest goal scored by the Seminoles in an ACC Tournament game.

Florida State took a two goal lead just five minutes in following a double passing combination from keeper Kelsey Wys and Brynjarsdottir finished in the end by McCarty. Wys punted the ball beyond midfield where Brynjarsdottir ran under and flicked the ball ahead. McCarty timed her run perfectly off the header getting behind the Eagle defenders and playing the ball forward before lofting a shot passed the out stretched arms of Gaul and into the upper left corner for the goal.

The Seminoles went into the locker room with the advantage in shots (7-1) and corners (3-0), while the defense did its job as the one Eagle shot was not on frame.

FSU added to its lead less than nine minutes into the second half when a direct free kick by Tiana Brockway from long range found its way through a mass of players and into the back of the net for the goal. In a bizarre play that saw Grubka and Kassey Kallman charging into the box to make a play, the ball bounced once inside the 18-yard box and somehow found its way into the net as the Seminoles took a commanding 3-0 lead.

Four minutes later a header by Kallman off a corner nearly made it 4-0 Florida State but a save by an Eagle defender on the line kept the BC deficit at three.

The Seminoles continued to apply pressure in the 61st minute when Hikaru Murakami found McCarty on a great pass inside the 18-yard box. McCarty tried to beat Gaul with a bending shot to the right post but the Eagle keeper came up with a big save tipping the ball out of bounds.

Florida State capped the scoring in the 71st minute on McCarty’s second goal of the afternoon. The play began in the midfield with Murakami, who found Jessica Price with space to run. The senior forward sent the ball out wide to her left to Brynjarsdottir, who slotted a cross to an open McCarty, who one-timed the pass for the score to give FSU a four-goal cushion.

Possession remained in favor of Florida State for a majority of the match as the Seminoles finished with a 14-4 shots advantage. McCarty led the way with three shots as all three were on frame. Jamia Fields, Price and Brockway also added two shots apiece.

Victoria DiMartino paced the Eagles with two shots in 90 minutes of play.

Wys and Taylor Vancil combined for FSU’s 14th shutout this year to tie a single-season school record set twice before in 2006 and 2008. Both Seminole keepers were credited with a save. Wys picked up the win as she moved to 15-2-0 on the year. The junior keeper added two school records to her name on Sunday as she became Florida State’s all-time leader in wins (47) and starts (62) surpassing Ali Mims in both categories.

Florida State will return to action in the first of two ACC Tournament Semifinals matches on Friday, November 2 at 5:00 p.m. The Seminoles will face fifth-seeded Virginia in Cary, N.C., at the Seminole Soccer Complex. The match will air live on ESPN3.

Single session ticket prices for the ACC Tournament in Cary will be $7 in advance for adults, youth and seniors and $10 at the gate. Children under three are admitted free as well as all ACC students with a valid I.D. Check with the www.theACC.com for further updates on ticketing for the semifinals and finals.

Live stats for the match will be available via gametracker, while fans can always receive in-game updates on Twitter @FSU_Soccer. Also, do not forget to like the Seminole Soccer team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FSUSoccer.

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